Nursing Informatics

Health Information Technology

Solveig Diaz

Keiser University

NUR4870 Nursing Informatics

06/20/2021

Health Information Technology

Patient safety is a subcategory of healthcare and refers to the prevention, evasion, and

improvement of hostile results or injuries stemming from care procedures. Implementation of

technology in healthcare is regarded as the first step in changing and transforming the healthcare

environment to attain improved and safer care. Health information technology described the

application of information processing incorporating computer software and hardware, which deals

with the storing, recovery, and sharing and the usage of healthcare information knowledge and data

for decision making and communication.

Health Information Technology Improves Patient Outcomes

Health information technology has also proved effective in decreasing hostile reactions and

increasing compliance to practice guidelines, thus improving patient safety (Sittig et al., 2018).

Effectively connecting health information technology (health IT) in improving patient safety,

reducing harm, and improving patient outcomes have therefore remained a uniting national goal

amongst healthcare providers, regulators, and patients. For the past few decades, the integration of

computer systems has been considered a probable device to support and improve clinical care.

Health Information Technology Risks and How to Prevent Them

Everyday application of health information technology needs a proper operation in a safe

workflow that recognizes the risks presented by humans’ interaction with machines. Errors in

technology are categorized as errors due to omission or instruction. A mistake due to commission

has a high possibility of happening. For instance, an order entry software application occurs due to

transmitting orders accurately instead of establishing the intended prescriber. Automated

dispensing cabinets pose significant risks when mismanaged improperly or obtain erroneous data

entry (Cohen & Mello, 2018). Furthermost, health facilities lack the sufficient size and scale for

supporting in-house expertise adequate for performing active detection and modification of health

IT safety. Worth noting is that the safety of Health Information Technology is a joint

responsibility, and the technology developer, patient, and healthcare providers should use

technology to improving patient safety. If technology is implemented and used appropriately, it can

lessen the risk and improving patient safety.

Strategies I Implement for Safe HIT to Provide Safe, High Quality Patient Care

One of the safety measures that I would recommend is for health organizations to create a

health information oversight machine that incorporates leadership and applicable stakeholders in

ensuring the health information plan is well coordinated to enhance patient safety and establish a

risk management plan. This is in strengthening the connection between patients and caregivers to

facilitate self-care management and patient engagement. Equally, the organization needs to change

and fine-tune the executed technology founded on user response and patient safety results (Graber

et al., 2019). It is also imperative for the organization to assess the cost of efficiency of

recommended technologies, which involves conducting an evidence-based decision and assessing

the existing information technology infrastructure comprising the hardware and software.

How Technology Supports and Improves Nursing Education and Nursing Practice

Technology has made a significant impact on the nursing profession. Technology has

facilitated online education for nursing students who can easily access apps, live and web-based

simulations, reference education materials, and e-books through their mobile devices. “Technology

has the capability of transforming teaching by introducing an ideal method of connected teaching

(Ratwani et al., 2019). Technology exposes nursing students to clinical situations they would not

meet in their practice and aids in bridging the gap between practice and theory. Technology allows

nurse instructors’ use innovative approaches of teaching that involve students in the learning

process. In nursing practices, computers allow nurses to rapidly access significant material about

the health and disease and the treatment plan from the electronic health record. Technology enables

nurses to record health information, progress, and treatments for ready accessibility and usage by

the health team members.

Privacy, Confidentiality, Information-and-Data Privacy, and Information Security

The increased integration of technology in healthcare has created the need for safeguarding

patient safety. New technologies such as mobile devices and apps can track a considerably greater

quantity of information concerning s patient than ever before, making it easy for one to access

patient data. Therefore, technology does not affect information privacy by altering information

accessibility but by limiting privacy standards. For instance, social networking sites require users

to share more data. This form of “oversharing” becomes acknowledged practice in a particular

group. Upholding high standards that protects information security and privacy is an indispensable

feature of ensuring patient for any healthcare provider (Rudin et al., 2021). The integration of

information technology in the healthcare environment necessitates the introduction of new methods

for managing data and alleviating related privacy risks must be implemented and developed.

What I Learned from This Assignment to Influence and Improve My Nursing Care

The recent integration of technology in healthcare has necessitated the need for

safeguarding and ensuring information privacy which entails controlling the collection, usage, and

expose of individual health information by use of health information technology. Healthcare

organizations and healthcare IT vendors must safeguard patient information. Health information

technology increases patient welfare by decreasing medical inaccuracies, minimizing hostile drug

reactions, and increasing conformity to practice policies (Krishna, 2017). Therefore health

information technology is an essential instrument for improving the safety and quality of

healthcare quality. However, healthcare organizations must be careful in choosing technology as

various technologies poses an adamant risk to patient health. Others have limited proof of

enhancing patient safety.

Summary

Health information technology described the application of information processing

encompassing computer software and hardware, which deals with the storing, recovery, and

sharing and the usage of healthcare information knowledge and data for decision making and

communication. Health information has presented many benefits in healthcare by minimizing

medical errors, facilitating care coordination, storage of healthcare data, imp and improving overall

clinical outcomes. Technology exposes nursing students to clinical circumstances that aids in

bridging the gap between practice and theory. Technology allows nurse instructors’ use innovative

approaches of teaching that involve students in the learning process.

References

Sittig, D. F., Belmont, E., & Singh, H. (2018, March). Improving the safety of health

information technology requires shared responsibility: It is time we all step up. In Healthcare (Vol.

6, No. 1, pp. 7-12).Elsevier.

Cohen, I. G., & Mello, M. M. (2018).HIPAA and protecting health information in the 21st

century. Jama, 320(3), 231-232.

Ratwani, R. M., Reider, J., & Singh, H. (2019). A decade of health information technology

usability challenges and the path forward. Jama, 321(8), 743-744.

Graber, M. L., Siegal, D., Riah, H., Johnston, D., & Kenyon, K. (2019).Electronic health

record–related events in medical malpractice claims. Journal of patient safety, 15(2), 77.

Krishna, R. (2017). The impact of health information technology on the doctor-patient

relationship in child and adolescent psychiatry. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North

America.

Rudin, R. S., Tang, P. C., & Bates, D. W. (2021). Health information technology

policy. Biomedical Informatics, 969-985.